Life without diabetes was so easy and fun. I could eat anything I wanted, drink anything I wanted. I could sleep at anyone’s house and be as far away from my parents as I could. Now, I can’t sleepover at anyone’s house, not even my cousins. I have to bolus before every food and drink I eat. And worst of all, I don’t feel good sometimes.
The cons are the worst. Imagine being 13 and everyone thinking you’re fat or unhealthy because you have diabetes. You walk the halls and everyone knows you as “the girl that has diabetes”. Leaving class to go to the nurse is even worse, all of the students think you’re leaving just to skip class, but worse than that, the teachers think so too.
My morning routines are kinda different than most kids. I usually wake up at 6:30, but sometimes if I was up all night with my blood sugar I end up getting to sleep in and going into school late. After that, I go eat breakfast, but before that I have to bolus. When I bolus, I give myself insulin from a little pod on my back or arm. (Insulin is what most people’s pancreases give them, but mine literally just died on me so I don’t get it from one, I get it from the pharmacy.). After breakfast, I get dressed and usually try to find something that hides my pump and dexcom. And then I’m on my way to school. School is mostly good with diabetes, and I said “mostly” for a reason. Sometimes my teachers don’t understand that I can’t do work or can’t take a test and it kinda gets frustrating. But on the other hand I have some really good and thoughtful teachers that try to understand their best and let me go whenever I have to. Kids at school don’t usually bother me about my diabetes, but every once and a while I will. Kids usually get confused about what kind of diabetes I have and they think it’s the type you get when you’re overweight. But when they do that, I just laugh and shake it off. Lunch is pretty good when I remember to bolus, but if I don’t, my blood sugar shoots up and I have to miss class. Most kids think I want to miss class but honestly I don’t. When I miss class, I get really behind and my grades start to drop.
This is what my life without diabetes would be like if I didn’t have it.
The Middle Seat 